While us Coeur d’Alene natives love all of these aspects about our hometown, what makes Coeur d’Alene truly stand apart is not the main attraction of the Resort, or the great hiking, fishing, etc. It’s the people that make it truly special.

My family and I moved to Post Falls in 2001. I was eight years old and we had just moved from a town of roughly 1,000 people and the jump to 14,000 was a welcome one.

I remember being excited about all the new opportunities. I could finally join a dance studio.. a real one! Or gymnastics, or theatre, or anything else I was passionate about at that age. I made friends in the neighborhood, and the sleepy suburban houses became fields for our imaginations.

I remember walking down the street. We picked out the darkest, most oddly designed house and dubbed it the house of a crazed old man who ate children when they were out late at night. Or that was something my parents told me to get home on time. It’s hard to tell.

The cool thing about the Coeur d’Alene area is that no matter where you are or what you’re involved in, people generally want to help you out. It is probably what has lead to the 5,000 new CDA residents since 2001.

Coffee culture is as strong here as the beans that are roasted. Cravens coffee, Doma Coffee and others are peppered throughout the Coeur d’Alene/Spokane region feeding into the numerous coffee shops that are found downtown. Calypso’s coffee, Vault and Java are among the staples of the downtown Coeur d’alene community.

A small nightlife is developing for young adults through these coffee shops, and were namely places I hung out at open mic nights supporting friends I knew from the choirs I was in at my high school.

In the last 15 years, there have been a great many things that have changed about the area. Post Falls just got a much-needed overpass for the Greensferry Road, The Resort got a facelift, downtown has ebbed and flowed with various different businesses, but one thing remains the same...

Indeed there are people wherever you go that make life a little more frustrating, but here in Coeur d’Alene, there will be about 5 more people who genuinely care about you as a person. I’m thankful for even the little sliver of time i’ve gotten to spend living here, and I know here at No Anchor we are, too.

So here’s to you Coeur d’Alene, this little thimble of beauty nestled into the foothills of the Rockies.